A Compilation of Drabbles
by Reading Ella
Summary: Many short writings for the running app Zombies, Run!
1. Regret

Disclaimer: I do not own Zombies, Run!, I make no money from this, etc.

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As soon as Sam says it he wishes he'd said something else.

Anything else.

What was he thinking? "New Runner Five"?

Must be the stress getting to him. He should know that there is only room for one name right now under the title Runner Five.

Alice.

And every time he says "Runner Five" to this _stranger_ he remembers, like a stab in the chest.

Not Alice.

Not anymore.


	2. Battle Wounds

"Okay Five, I've almost…there! You're back on the monitors!"

Sam grinned triumphantly as the terrible static he'd been following morphed into a blurry image of Five and several zoms. But something wasn't right.

"Five, I need you to be honest right now because I still can't see you very clearly and it definitely looks like you're limping." He took a deep breath to steady his voice. "Were you bitten while you were off monitor?"

"Bitten? No, I'm fine. I've got a blister though. Hurts like hell."

"Oh. Good, that's goo—I mean not good but better than the alternative." Unexpectedly strong relief washed over him. Was he getting attached to _another _runner? That was just a bad idea. He knew from experience. No, this was just…concern for Abel. That's right. Couldn't afford to lose a runner, could they?

"Sam? You still there?"

"Yeah, sorry. Um, ok, you'll want to adjust your course a little to the west, there're some more zoms to the east that I don't want you to run into."

He watched Five crest a hill, dodging rocks and potholes.

"And Five? Make sure you take care of that blister when you get back."

"Yes, Mother." The monitor was still too grainy to make out much, but he could see Five's sarcastic grin perfectly anyway.

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a/n: Thanks for reading ^_^

Also, I went back and changed the formatting on the first one to make it easier to read because I realized it was all smushed together.

Until next time! -Ella


	3. Irony

a/n: I don't like running, except when playing Zombies, Run! Also note, I've been trying not to assign pronouns to Runner Five in my writing (the way it is in the game) but I couldn't figure out how to do it here without sounding weird. Apologies.

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Runner Five did not, in fact, like running. As a child Phys Ed class had been a good time to develop a "headache" and need to lie down for an hour. Avoiding sports became an art form and days indoors a way of life. So she found it a bit ironic that her life now revolved around running. Everyone even referred to her as Runner Five like she didn't have another name.

True, she hadn't exactly signed up to be a runner but she couldn't back out now. Not in a place where everyone had to pull their weight. And somehow running felt different when she had Sam and Dr. Myers talking in her ear. It made the mission her focus and she didn't notice the discomfort of running until she was home safe in Abel. So really, for a runner who hated running, she didn't have a whole lot to complain about.


	4. Old

a/n: I don't think this qualifies as a drabble anymore. Oh well. I think I need to rename this story to a compilation of ficlets.

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Sam and Maxine are trying to clean up the coms shack. It's not as simple a task as it sounds. Sam groans as he leans down to pick up some papers he knocked off his natural disaster of a desk.

"I'm too old for this," he mumbles, probably to himself, but Maxine overhears.

"Hey!" she says, laughing. "You don't get to complain like that until you're at least my age."

He chuckles. "Sorry. Sometimes I forget I'm not an old fart like you."

"Watch it, I'm not that old," she pretends to glare but it's hard to hide her smile.

Although he's joking she realizes as she looks into his eyes that's he's a lot older than the college student he's supposed to be. It surprises her because really she's usually struck by how young he is. But he should be in school. And here he is directing runners in the field. And feeling every success and every failure. Each life that is lost seems to have added that many years to his eyes. The thousand years in his eyes are gone in an instant as he turns around, tripping over his chair and making even more of a mess.

Sam forgets the conversation almost immediately.

But Maxine can't.


End file.
